Important Note Dept: As you can probably guess, I’ve been a bit busy with Real Life(TM) this summer, and while I’ve been productive at many things, I sure as hell have not been productive at blogging—I’ve been reading at a glacial pace, which caused my writing to lag as well since I need to, y’know, read things before I can review them. Rather than disappoint everyone with silence, instead I’ll just post reviews of things most of you don’t care about: graphic novel reviews and art posts! I have a bunch of short graphic novel reviews stockpiled on Goodreads and elsewhere, and some half-completed art posts I can finish up. What a time to be alive!

Image Comics – 2015 – Jason Latour

Where volume 1 dealt with Earl Tubb returning to Craw, Alabama, coming to terms with his past under his deceased father’s shadow, volume 2 follows a different path: Euless Boss, now “Coach Boss” of the Runnin’ Rebs football team, but once a sad-sack linebacker mocked by teammates (“Euless” becomes “Useless”). With the aid of the blind ball boy, Euless becomes a force to be reckoned with in the football field—and his deadbeat dad’s schemes pull him into the world of the Dixie Mafia. His rise in the football world coincides with his rise in organized crime, and by the end, he’s the most feared and respected man in town.

Along with Jason Latour’s gritty art and the series’ rich Southern atmosphere, characterization continues to be a standout element ofSouthern Bastards; I didn’t expect to sympathize with Coach Boss after his introduction in the first volume (especially after its double-whammy cliffhanger). But here I am, more aware and understanding of how a young football-minded teen could become a ruthless crime baron. I’m still not entirely sure what he’s a crime lord of, or what pies he has his fingers in, but his association with the Dixie Mafia is all I need to know for now.

I really like where the story is heading after these two volumes, and things are set up well for volume 3. This is a lush, gorgeous book with a lot of depth to its story, and if its style of Southern-fried noir sounds appealing I’d recommend you give volume 1 a try.

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6 thoughts on “Southern Bastards, Vol. 2”

It seems we do indeed share a taste in comics, as I actually got the first two volumes of this, too. Haven’t read it yet, as I’m considering a Fantasy trilogy attitude towards reading comes, i.e. only start reading them when the whole thing is finished – which, I’m starting to think, might not be such a good idea after all.

I’m curious what you’ll come up with next! (and will be taking a peek at Scalped and Loose Ends in the meantime)

Haha, good to know! And I hear you on the “Fantasy trilogy attitude,” though I’m starting to read comics as they come out, after being burned by some awesome series that were cancelled far too early. Image in particular has a habit of killing off comics that don’t meet certain sales/readership quotas. I bought 2-3 “complete” runs of some Image series, only to get invested and then disappointed when they ended mid-story.

Scalped is one of my top-10 graphic novels, though I only read the first few volumes — it was in the “peak Vertigo” era when things like Sandman, Preacher, and Fables were the best comics you could buy. And Southern Bastards is shaping up to be a very similar successor.

“But here I am, more aware and understanding of how a young football-minded teen could become a ruthless crime baron.” You’re growing, Chris.

I like the artwork. I also appreciate the attention you give graphic novels, a form that I keep meaning to get into, but then I stall: I read League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vols 1 and 2 last year, and picked up two or three other titles, but haven’t gotten around to them. Your review may spur me on. Also: I haven’t read Harrow County, but it sounds as if it would be up your alley.

It took me a while to get into graphic novels, and I’m still sorting out the wheat from the chaff. I liked League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, though some of the later volumes (the stand-alone series) got very self-indulgent. I haven’t read Harrow Country yet but I really want to… I did read the first three volumes of Outcast (reviews coming Sept-Oct?). It’s a brooding, mysterious, slow-burn type of horror, and I can see that annoying some readers, but the mystery and atmosphere pulled me in.